Rainbow tower — six discs that spin down the pole

Six coloured discs and a twisted pole. Drop a disc over the top and it spins its way down on its own, all the way to the base — then it comes off and goes on again, which is the entire appeal and it does not wear off for months.

What it builds

• Aim and release: getting a disc over the top of the pole is a real piece of hand-eye work at eighteen months
• Cause and effect, watched closely — the disc does something every time, and the child made it happen
• Sorting, when they are ready: by size, by colour, by shape, or in no order at all
• Counting, because six discs going down one at a time is the easiest counting a toddler will ever do

Why we stock it

A plain ring stacker is solved once and then it is done. This one keeps something back: the spin. A child who cannot yet sort by size will still load the pole over and over just to watch the discs go, and the sorting arrives later on the same toy. That is unusual value in a first-birthday present, and it is why this one stays in the room long after the other stacker is in a cupboard.

The details

Age

18 months and up

Contents

Six discs, corkscrew pole, base

Action

Discs spiral down the pole on their own

Discs

Graded sizes, two edge shapes

Material

Moulded plastic, smooth edges

Assembly

Pole into base. No tools.

Power

None. No batteries, no sound.

In the box

The pole, the base and six discs, in the printed carton. It takes one push to put together and comes apart flat again for a shelf or a suitcase.

Care

Warm soapy water, rinse and air dry — there is no electronics in it, so it can be washed properly, which matters for a toy this age group puts in their mouth. Dry the pole before rebuilding. If a disc starts sticking on the way down, it is usually something sticky on the thread rather than damage.